The ritual of lightning by Samara

After CA Conrad’s (SOMA)tic Poetry Exercises

Wait for a flood warning

that comes 10 minutes before you’re

meant to leave for rehearsal, or the supermarket.

Instead of leaving, stay. Take your shoes off.

Stand outside next to a tree or a flagpole and

make yourself an outlet. Plug in. Feel the

rage that the rain is trying to douse, let

it burn out your grounding wire.

Call down the lightning with it,

light it up inside you like dynamite

in your hand. Wrap your arms around

the tree/pole for dear life, know

that the lightning with spark through

the roots under the dirt, under

your feet, a neon tree of life

burning up the earthworms and

beetles, the sky will spit its forked tongue

and the earth will boil but like seeks like—

they say you can’t survive

seeing g-d, but you will try.

---

Samara is a Pushcart nominee whose work has appeared most recently or is forthcoming in Bird’s Thumb, The Christian Century, Inflectionist Review, Gyroscope Review and others. She has two children, works in marketing and design, and has returned to university and will complete her BA in Poetry in the summer of 2018. More at www.samarawords.com.